About Ribeirão Preto

Ribeirão Preto is a city in the State of São Paulo. Its nickname is “Brazilian California” due to a combination of an agriculture-based economy, advanced technology, wealth and a sunny weather throughout the entire year. With over 600 thousand inhabitants, Ribeirão Preto is the 8th largest municipality in the State, with a total area of 652,2 square kilometers and is located 330 km away from the State’s capital and 708 km away from Brasília, Brazil’s capital. The average altitude is 546,8 m. Ribeirão Preto is at the center of an urban agglomeration with over a million inhabitants.

 

The city was founded on July 19th, 1856, by agriculturists from the southeast of the State of São Paulo who were searching for good weather to grow coffee. The city was named after the stream that runs through it, the “Ribeirão Preto”. Eventually, the agriculturists’ choice proved very adequate and the region’s fertile land made it the most productive agricultural region in Brazil.

 

This high productivity quickly put Ribeirão Preto as the largest supplier of ethanol and sugar cane in the world, responsible for 30% of Brazilian sugar cane production. The peak of sugar cane production brought a new period of prosperity for the city, during the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, and this caused the city’s wealth to increase and turned it into a sophisticated service center for Brazil and South America.

 

Besides sugar and ethanol, Ribeirão Preto’s main products are: orange juice, cotton, rice, meat, dairy products, textiles, machinery, steel, furniture, construction materials, agrochemicals, pharmaceutical products and beer.

 

Ribeirão Preto is a very hot city throughout the entire year. Usually between May and September the temperature will drop significantly in the morning and at night, but it is still very warm in the afternoon. It is important to remember that, during these months, the air humidity is considerably low and it rarely rains.

More Information

Rodrigo Brunelli Pirani Phone: +55 16 3315-0112 Email: international.lawrp@usp.br